Alexia Pham
Alexia Pham (born June 14, 1994), known professionally as Fay Evergreen serves as the lead vocalist, primary songwriter and occasional guitarist of the rock band Celestia. Please Perish? Alexia Pham was born to a Vietnamese father and a French-Canadian mother in Vancouver, Canada. Ever since she was young, she expressed a passion for music. She began taking professional vocal lessons at the young age of 15, with aid from her at the time boyfriend Peter Hung who worked in a Subway restaurant while living in his father's house. While still at school she tried out for a local pop punk band, Perfect Storm, but was denied for her lack of skill at the time. Frustrated, Pham began taking singing even more seriously. She met guitarist and future boyfriend, Peter Hung in her high school cafeteria, showing great interest in him after hearing him perform live at a talent show. She approached him and the two soon began talking regularly, ultimately leading to a relationship. As their relationship grew and Alexia's vocal abilities drastically improved, so much that Peter Hung suggested they form a band together, and soon after Please Perish? was formed. Celestia The band released a self-titled album in September 2010, which acclaimed mostly positive reviews. In November 2010, Pham met Robert Patterson at a karaoke bar who was a well known guitarist in the area who had worked for mildly successful bands before. He wanted to play with her and she refused, stating she was in a band with her boyfriend. After deliberation and a painful breakup, Pham joined Celestia as its final member completing the band's lineup in 2012. She writes the majority of the band's song lyrics and along with guitarist Robert Patterson helps to compose much of the band's music. Her vocals play a major role in the band's sound. Personal Life Pham grew up in a strict religious household, but was a very rebellious and sacrilegious girl. She would frequently skip class to spend time alone or with her friends instead, and she didn't earn very good grades because of it. At the age of 16 she was arrested for underage, public intoxication, which was followed by her parents threatening to kick her out of the house. Pham continued not to change her behavior, and she continued to experiment with sex and drugs. She once expressed that she'd rather earn money as a model or a sex worker than work a boring menial job. One of her former classmates Tia May described her as a pretty girl who was very compelling and mysterious, but also intimidating. "You never knew what she would say or do!" she continued. "Sometimes she'd behave like a timid, quiet kid. Other times she'll storm out of the class unannounced or start screaming at people, and at worst tossing things around. I've seen her throw fits in class." We all knew she was very unique. She had a special charm to her. It was something about the way she carried herself I think." In one interview, Pham admitted to taking illegal drugs including LSD and heroin. She moved out of her parents' house to live with her boyfriend by the age of 16 and had maintained negative relations with her parents ever since. "My parents always wanted me out of the house, and I deeply resent them for that because if they truly cared about me they'd let me stay" she explained in a backstage interview. At the age of 15, after taking vocal lessons for only 5 months, she became the lead vocalist of the rock band "Please Perish?" with her boyfriend Peter Hung on guitar, and his friend Lanh Ngo on drums. Pham at the time embraced a vocal style that was very breathy and seductive. During this time she would dress all in black, often wearing clothing that was enticing and revealing. She wore smudgy eyeliner and black lipstick, and she kept her hair in a signature bob with blunt bangs. After months of practicing, Please Perish? released their first digital single in October 2009 which was entitled "Breaking Boundaries (One life at a time)". The release received little attention and very few reviews, none of which were particularly positive. "There was nothing that stood out about it, it was very mediocre." said a reviewer who rated the album 2 out of 5 stars. However that didn't discourage the young band from improving. A month later, they recruited bassist Indigo Gangjeon and became a four piece band. After hours every day after school of practicing at Peter's house, they released a single called "Hypnosis" in June 2010 which had a more positive reception, most notably for Pham's much improved vocals. "She surprised me more than I ever could imagine. She sounded like an angel out of nowhere and she completely blew us away, it was unhuman. I don't know what her vocal couch taught her but she improved tremendously in just a couple of months. It even felt like she had gotten better with each rehearsal, and the rest of us had to do our part to keep up with her before she outshined us too much and we had to find a new singer. Hell she could even rap and do screamo style vocals and make it sound good." said guitarist and former boyfriend, Peter Hung. In October 2010 during a live show, Alexia was approached by a scout named Ryan Clam who worked for a talent agency after a concert. He told her that she had the talent and the looks to become a successful artist, but she would have to leave her band because the other members weren't as marketable. He noted being incredible impressed by how she could glide from note to note so effortlessly like she had been practicing for many years. Alexia refused the offer politely, stating that she didn't want to leave her band. In February 2011, Peter broke up with Alexia stating that she was too much trouble to be around and that she needed to go to rehab. I wish I never had to break up with her, but at the time I felt it was for the best. She was an amazing girlfriend at the beginning of our relationship, but I saw a dark side in her that I'm not comfortable sharing with anyone here. The other members of the band didn't want to play with her anymore either, until she got well again. It's better that I say no more about it, I just hope she's changed by now and I still think she's a good person deep inside, but she had real issues at the time. I don't know what she's like in her new band at all" stated Peter Hung during a private interview. "Alexia was an extremely moody and unstable person" said drummer Lanh Ngo. "Things always had to go her way. She felt she was above all of us, and threatened to leave the band countless times over a couple of stupid disagreements." "She had promised several times that she could get us a record deal and we could become famous, and I actually believed in her too. But in the end it was her own behavior that broke up the band. She was a drug addict, and a danger to herself and others and to make matters worse she refused to do anything about it. One time she showed up to rehearsal completely wasted, and we couldn't do anything with her" said bassist Indigo Gangjeon. Frustrated, without a band, and forced to move out of Peter's house, Alexia messaged Robert Patterson whom she had been friends with on Facebook in June 2011, and soon they agreed to collaborate. Training and vocal profile Pham stated in a 2014 interview that she was a solely self-taught singer by the time Celestia formed but she had learned a lot from her vocal instructor during their time together. When she was 16 years old, she used to practice alone four or five hours per day to improve her skills. Pham is a mezzo-soprano singer who possesses a 4 octave range and two notes, with both a light and lyric vocal quality. Her highest note is found on the song "Stay With Me" and her lowest on "Solitude". She sings using many different vocal styles and techniques, even rapping and performing aggressive vocals on occasion. Collaborations with other artists Pham has a sister who plays bass guitar in the all female rock band Starpiece, to which Pham has provided backup vocals in a number of their songs. Pham can also be head rapping in the song "Love Letter" by Switch. Trivia & Fun Facts Once Malaise started gaining popularity and started performing in venues; Alexia began a trend of smoking on stage, self-mutilation, cartwheeling, and inviting fans on stage to make out with her, among other bizarre stage antics, but once signed by Fearless records she was told she had to change her stage habits - to which she complied. Besides singing, Alexia enjoys watching television and horror movies, fitness, shopping cooking, writing, fashion, and making art. Her biggest musical influence is Amy Lee, stating that Evanescence was the first band she really enjoyed and she wanted to be able to sing their songs. Alexia stands at 5'2 feet tall and speaks English, Vietnamese, and French. She has a strong relationship with her Vietnamese side of the family, and she has two sisters. Alexia describes herself as wild, fun loving, and a good friend. She also stated that her biggest fault is that she's bad at remaining composed when things go wrong. Alexia has two lip piercings, 4 ear piercings, 1 belly button piercing, and tattoos on her upper back, lower back and right arm. Alexia has donated her hair 5 times, and in 2016 she donated 24 inches of her hair to the Canadian cancer society, wearing her remaining hair in a short bob cut.